Fresh

June 7, 2021
Wood’s charming but uneven debut, a loose retelling of Austen’s Emma, is a sex-positive romp through freshman college life. Set at Boston’s Emerson College, it traces Elliot McHugh’s evolution from insecure and self-absorbed to assured and affectionate. Well-meaning but unaware of her privilege, Elliot, who’s white and queer, immediately takes up a regimen of parties and sex upon arriving at university; instead of homework and declaring a major, she nearly fails all her classes. Meanwhile, she introduces her Armenian roommate, scholarship student Lucy Garabedian, to snobbish classmate Kenton Parker—who sexually assaults Elliot at an off-campus party. Amid the fallout, she realizes that she must take responsibility for her education; mend her relationship with Lucy, who’s misunderstood the situation; and learn vulnerability as a friend and lover. Elliot’s narration breaks the fourth wall often, through footnotes and “dear reader” interjections; in places, this technique works, but lengthy footnote asides frequently interrupt the reading experience (“Have I told you, dear reader, how much I love you lately?”). Even so, strong secondary characters, including Elliot’s precocious younger sister and her matter-of-fact RA, reveal Elliot’s strengths and flaws, and character discussions around consent and sexual discovery ring true. Ages 14–up. Agent: Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary.

June 15, 2021
Elliot McHugh chronicles a freshman year of college filled with new friends and sexual escapades. In this story loosely inspired by Jane Austen's Emma, Elliot is an outgoing, undeclared, new student at Boston's Emerson College. She immediately becomes close friends with her roommate, Lucy Garabedian, who comes from a large Armenian American family and has far more ambitious college and career plans than she does. Elliot's primary goal is to sleep with many people of any gender and with no commitments. This comes to fruition but isn't as fulfilling as she thought, especially as she dwells on a conversation with Rose Knightley, her gorgeous resident adviser, about what constitutes good sex. Additionally, her courses are more of a struggle than she expected, and her behavior results in friendship hurdles. As the year progresses, Elliot learns more about who she is, what she wants, and what it takes to be a good friend and romantic partner. Elliot's meta, first-person narration is conversational and often hilarious, with footnotes and sections directly addressing readers and inviting their participation. While it's sometimes over-the-top, it all fits with Elliot's exuberant persona. She's a well-crafted, messy character who makes mistakes but ultimately means well. Unabashedly sex-positive and queer, this story is mostly light and breezy, but it has serious moments as well. Elliot is assumed White; there is some ethnic diversity in secondary characters. A fresh, funny, college-set, coming-of-age tale. (Fiction. 15-18)

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August 1, 2021

Gr 10 Up-Eliot is headed to Emerson College to begin her freshman year, and she really only has one thing on her mind: sex. When one of her classes gives her the opportunity to have a bunch of casual hookups with her peers in the name of writing an essay about love and eroticism, Eliot jumps at the chance. However, she soon learns that casual hook-ups aren't fulfilling and that they are putting the few quality relationships she has formed at risk. The first half of the novel provides a compelling story with a good amount of conflict, but it falls flat in the second half. Eliot's character grows during this portion of the novel, but that is the only thing that happens. It felt as if the book continued following the characters through the rest of the school year simply because it was meant to be set over the course of the school year, and not because there was more story to tell. This debut has echoes of Jane Austen's Emma, (for example, Eliot sets her roommate up with her first boyfriend, only to realize he is not a good guy, similar to the way Emma attempts to set up Harriet with Mr. Elton), but the connection is pretty subtle. It will appeal less to Jane Austen fans than a firmer retelling, and the graphic, sexual content could be off-putting for some teens. VERDICT An additional purchase for libraries where sex positive titles are needed.-Mariah Smitala, Hedberg P.L., Janesville, WI

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2021
Grades 10-12 Elliot McHugh is an undeclared freshman at Emerson College, a Leo, and a chaotic-good extrovert uninterested in relationships or commitment. Diving headfirst into exploring freshman year, she chooses classes that sound fun and embarks on a project to find really good sex. She makes fast friends in her roommate, Lucy, an excellent hugger, and Micah, a passionate journalism major, and butts heads with her R.A. This is a debut novel, and in every sense of the word, it's the story of Elliot's debut, too, as she navigates boundaries and the hard work of college. The narrative is colored by her quirky footnotes, fourth-wall breaking, and endearingly blunt first-person thoughts. Elliot's journey to choosing who she wants to be and taking accountability for her mistakes feels earned, and her deftly crafted, vulnerable voice allows readers to empathize. Wood's debut is fun, written in an effervescent voice that dares readers to take the risks Elliot does--and to fall in love with her along the way.

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